This is my "signature" cake"..I've made it under all sorts of circumstances including a gas cooker in London that went down in the middle of baking...also in high altitude when I neglected to follow those specific directions...EVen the "shell" was devoured and no one even noticed! This cake is a winner...the changes to lower the fat are in (). Because I'm starting with the mix, there is already a certain amount of fat, but it's not too bad.) * use any kind of cake mix without the pudding in it. Use less oil if you wish--⅛ to ¼ cup.

Beat together ( use a food processor or a hand mixer or anything that's handy)...until batter is smooth.

I've only made the jars once and I baked 2 jars along with a small bundt pan. It took the normal time. With the jars only, I would test at 35 minutes. (I used one of those bamboo thin skewers - it's like a long toothpick! I thought I was so clever!) You'll see the cake rising and turning brown and it pulls away a little from the sides of the jar. With the regular cake I do the following: Turn out of the pan immediately onto the serving plate. (Don't, of course, take the cakes out of the jars!) Poke holes in the cake with a fork (in the jar) spoon over the following "icing": 1½ c. powdered sugar (or any amount you want) grated lemon rind (in proportion to sugar) Lemon juice to make "runny" consistency. It should drip from the spoon. Spoon it right over the tops of the cakes in the jar - or over the bundt cake shape. Put the lids on and screw down the rings. Everything worked fine.

I tasted one of them after a few days...naturally! The cake was delicious and didn't lose any of its flavor with the substitutions.

This cake is always a hit, and SO easy to make. It takes exactly one hour from start to finish! Ronda Furgatch Linda Caldwell Food BB Board Leader WWGQ25A 08:57 am/CST/10th/November